HORSEPOWER WARS
Third Place: Dustin Davis RAM/CUMMINS 1,287 HP + 2,065 LB-FT = 3,352 TOTAL SCORE
Just like Chris Rosscup, the Gomer’s US Diesel Parts entry has been a consistent competitor in the challenge for the last few years. Unlike some of the others, Davis really concentrated on starting the run low and cranking out the torque with his Cummins engine, and he was the first competitors to break the 2,000 lb-ft mark with a 2,065 lb-ft pull. Despite having a lower horsepower than the other top six, the big torque number put Davis’s Ram over the top, leading to a score of 3,353 points, which was good enough for third place.
Second Place: Ryan Phaff RAM/CUMMINS 1,360 HP + 2,047 LB-FT = 3,407 TOTAL SCORE
Probably the most unique truck at the event belonged to Ryan Phaff, who had come all the way from Canada to make it to the challenge. After a trip from hell, Phaff finally made it with his Ram, which looked sort of stock-ish from in front of the driver’s door. Start walking around the truck and that sense evaporates however, as a fender-exit exhaust, four-link rear suspension and aluminum floorboards all scream “race truck.” After dropping more than 1,000 pounds, Phaff concentrated on power and built a deckplated 6.4L Cummins engine with enormous 88mm turbos that blow into a 98mm manifold charger, which feeds an air-to-water intercooler. To say expectations were high is an understatement, as the truck had just put down 2,050 hp on a different dyno before the event. Once the rollers started spinning, the black Dodge immediately started bellowing smoke and filled the dyno room. We heard an ear-splitting roar through the smoke, and Phaff’s Ram laid down... 1,360 hp. Was it the dyno? Was something wrong with the tune or truck? Was it spinning on the rollers? A roller speed equivalent of 3,700 rpm didn’t match the truck’s Racepak, which registered 5,500 rpm and told the story. Phaff just simply couldn’t hook his power up.
King of the Dyno: Randy Reyes RAM/CUMMINS 1,603 HP + 2,004 LB-FT = 3,607 TOTAL SCORE
Randy Reyes won the ATS challenge last year and was sure to show up in 2018 to defend his crown. His big red dually has backed up its dyno numbers with 9-second passes at 150 mph on the dragstrip, and with three turbos and three injection pumps was the favorite coming into this year’s event. Reyes hit the dyno with everything he had on his first pull and cranked out an unreal 1,603 rwhp and 2,004 lb-ft torque. With a single pull he’d won by the numbers, and went to pull his monster dually off the dyno. But the drama didn’t end there. Something was amiss, and as it pulled off the dyno the truck sputtered and died a few feet short of the “make or break” line that signaled a full run and a successful drive-off. If Reyes couldn’t make it past the line, Phaff would win. With 30 minutes alotted to make dyno pulls, Reyes had about 20 minutes left after his one dyno run to move another three feet and take the victory. A huge crowd gathered as he cranked so hard he nearly set his batteries on fire. With just a few minutes to spare, the Ram fired up and sputtered over the finish line, signaling Reyes’s second win in a row.